Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-09-01


III ]; =;':| i: i ! %. 3 J
u4 IL woman who can travel
h T. without O thousand and
NY /one packages, baskets,
o@A| n shawls and bundles,
WV and be willing to carry
-eENU something herself with
G TN out leaving them all
-NSNr for me, I'll fall at her
RST feet instanter and never
| N>W get up until she sets
NJ the wedding day. Do
&& you girls think fell
~ lows all hands, or do
NJ you intend to tie these
" to my back and around
| my shoulders? ., women are q nuis-
ance, anyhowl"
1t was Just like good-natured John
Reed to grumble and scold, and do
twice as much as was asked, aud as
nobody ever minded him more than to
he went on 1fs @aSe 1tdafqQ dafqQqt PaaR that, .
oddities, and yet with heart soft as
gentle woman's.
He had three romping, laughing
schoolgirls under his charge, and so
completely had they loaded him down
with luggage that he had grumbled and
fused ever since they had started,
much to the amusement of the young
ladies who were used to his ways.
At the last moment a gentleman
called Mr.. Reed as de and asked If he
would be so kind rs to take charge OF
his sister, who was en- route Tor the
city to take position as teacher In o
large school there. In response to the
introduction, "Miss Carlton, Mr.. Reed, !"
she only bowed, and then turned for a
last good-by to her brother. Jack
looked about him in dismay, frightened
ut the idea of an addition to his load,
but could see nothing but q gray shawl
snugly strapped, which she carried
easily. Her travelling costume was
neat and perfectly fitting, and there
was an air of It'd ness and composure
about her that just pleased Johns taste
exactly.
He was listening intently to what
Miss Carlton said, but when she ceased
turned to Effie's side with some iesting
remark about an entirely foreign sub
iect, and when the girls had chance
TO teaze him about "this lady who had
no luggage for him to carry" he only
answered in his solemnly ludicrous
style, "Time will show, time will show.
After time the day grew hot and
the way dusty, and, tired and worn
out, the girls lost their liveliness and
were content to lie back among the
cushions and sleepily let the time glide
away. Poor Jack, left to himself,
sought Miss Carlton, expecting to see
another faded flower" as he emphat
ically declared each of his charges tc
be. On the contrary, she was wide
awake, fresh as when they left home
no trace of WEAKNESS or fatigue on the
Bgight faGe thas %ss OJ ftea hef frSm Sa ta ths
one of those women that dust seems tC
have no affinity for. "A tidy, neal
body" as the old folks call them, "whc
always look as if just out of band
box" She quietly cleared away her
things from the adjoining seat and
they were soon chatting away as
though they had been friends for years
instead of the chance acquaintances o.
few hours. Her voice was sweet and
clear, and her language was refined
and cultivated, and her manners were
SO free from all affectation, that John
felt a composure and relief from EN-
barrassment in her presence that hC
rarely enjoyed when with other women
The truth was he was in love; and the
girls, fully awake now that there was
something to interest them, were not
long in understanding the case, and
now prepared to tease most heartily
the "dear old fellow" who was ai
bashful as a schoolboy.
But at dusk the city was reached
and after seeing his party safe at the
academy John went home to his board
ing house, so abstracted that he was
unconscious of the greetings of ole
friends. When alone there shone be
fore him those clear hazel eyes, intc
whose depths he had looked that day
for the first time, but that would evel
be remembered. A fair face framed
in nut-brown hair, with a smooth
brow, and family tinted checks, made
picture for his memory tha
he sought to recall clearer anC
more vividly hour Ivy hour. "a
woman who could take care o.
herself had always been q boastet
prodigy that he had challenged hi
girl friends to find, and now that h,
had known this quiet, demure teacher
he was still dissatisfied. Seeing the
she was self-reliant, he was anxious t,
teach her to lean upon him, and know
ing her ability to take her place among
the worlds workers, he longed to shell
ter her in his own home and toll TO
her, that she might not labor. H.
shrank from the thought of her beinl
alone, and, with q great gush of low
and sympathy, remembering his owl
solitary life, yearned to enfold her witt
q tender affection that should know n,
WEAKNESS.
But as the weeks heightened int
months, and the months rolled away
the distance seemed to lengthen be
tween them, and the girls who watche,
with intense interest the wooing, use'
to laugh and tell him he did not know
| how To "cOurt n ladvD